Memoirs of a Backwater Town
by Yurianna Aquierl Hoffenburg
Summary: The members of Group B of Thors Military Academy recount their experiences in Parm, the Spinning Town, where Fie confesses to wanting to blow up a train and Jusis blocking off his memories of Parm in the future. Includes spoilers and references for CSI, and minor spoilers and implications from CSII and CSIII/閃の軌跡III. Pairings: Machias x Fie, Gaius x Emma.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Memoirs of a Backwater Town is somewhat of an attempt to fill in the gaps of what happened during the first field trip based on various scenes and hints scattered throughout the Trails of Cold Steel. Since this is a huge project, it will take some time for the story to reach completion. I've referenced various scenes throughout Trails of Cold Steel to piece this together and will later provide information about their whereabouts.

 **Memoirs of a Backwater Town: Chapter 1**

 **Chapter 1: What Fie Saw**

I jolted awake with a start. _Are we there yet?_ Stifling a yawn, I looked around the train cabin. "A-Ahh, you're awake," Emma remarked. Honestly, it didn't really matter to me if I was awake or not. I just wanted to be anywhere but here. Being stuck with two annoying preppy guys who never knew when to shut up, a guy who got easily lost every time he entered a new city, and a timid girl for a weekend in a faraway town just wasn't my idea of fun. I just wanted the weekend to be over and done with.

"Huh. I'm surprised you napped for three hours straight," said Gaius. Aside from him getting easily lost the first time he goes to a developed town and having a weird fondness for word puns, I got along with him just fine. He sat on the opposite side of where Emma and I sat, right between Machias and Jusis.

They had just finally stopped glaring at each other since this morning. This was one thing I didn't get about my classmates. _Don't they ever tire of doing the same thing almost everyday?_ By now, both of them were trying their best to ignore each other. That probably happens when you're on at rain ride for six hours straight.

"Ugh. Isn't there anything else you do other than napping?" asked Machias.

"You're the one to talk," Jusis replied. "Just let her be, there's nothing worth doing here, anyway." He took a furtive glance at Machias before resolutely turning his back on him. "Dear Aidios, why am _I_ even here?"

"I've been talking with Gaius for quite some time now. Care to join us, Fie?" Emma proposed.

"About what?" I shrugged. "It's not like there's anything else to do around here."

"Emma and I were talking about what we did before we went to the academy," Gaius explained. "I'm surprised that you came from a remote region in Western Erebonia."

"I feel the same way as you do. If I recall, the Nord Highlands are situated between both Erebonia and the Republic, right?"

"Yeah, my homeland is surrounded by the Eisengard mountains. It's pretty cold up there in the winter, so moving south to Trista was quite the adjustment for me."

"...so how did you end up in Thors in the first place?!" blurted Machias. "Look, I get that our class program is supposed to be…unique, but how could you afford to pay for tuition?"

"Indeed," added Jusis as he stared out the window of the train. "There aren't many cases where foreign exchange students are accepted into any academy in Erebonia, let alone the highest ranking academy in Erebonia. I've certainly never seen anything like it before."

"Umm…" Emma started, but Gaius simply cocked his head to one side, looking confused. "Is that a problem?"

 _Wow. That was really blunt._

"W-well," Machias hesitated, his face turning bright red.

"I meant no offense by that. Pay it no mind," stated Jusis.

"I received a recommendation to attend Thors, and for that, I'm grateful." Gaius replied. "How about you guys?"

 _Talk about dodging a bullet._

"Umm…w-well, I won a scholarship though the entrance exams," Emma turned towards me. "I was hoping you'd share as well, Fie."

"Me?" I asked, pointing to myself. "Instructor Sara forced me to come here. Not that I mind or anything."

As soon as I said that, they all stared at me, surprised.

"Wait…what?!" Machias almost shot up from his seat.

"But aren't your last names different? Your surname is Clausell after all, not Valestein."

"Yup." I responded.

"Pardon me, but is Instructor Sara like your mother or something?"

"Yeah, I guess you could call her that. She's actually my legal guardian."

Jusis shook his head. "I find it hard to believe that Instructor Sara has a motherly side."

"Me too." Machias muttered silently. Annoyed at the situation, Jusis let out a disgruntled _hmph_ , while Machias cleared his throat with a loud _ahem_. He was about to get himself into yet another shouting match with Jusis when Emma quickly interrupted with a simple statement.

"Ahh, so I take it that you're not from Erebonia either, Fie?"

"Nope." I nodded. "Trista's probably one of the first places in Erebonia I've been to anyway. The weather's pretty nice and the food's not bad."

"Well…I suppose that's true," Machias chimed in, "The coffee at Kirsche's is amazing. Now if only I had proper equipment and some high-quality beans, school would be much more bearable. There's nothing better than a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee during the morning to start your day -"

"You mean that burning bitter sludge you drink?" Jusis scoffed. "If you want to start your morning off right, nothing beats a nice cup of tea."

"Jusis -" but Gaius' rebuke was all but drowned out by the green-haired boy's outburst.

"Nobody asked for your damn opinion! Only an arrogant noble like you would even bother drinking scalding hot coloured water! How useful is that!"

"Tch! Only a uncultured moron like you would utterly fail to appreciate the beauty of tea drinking. Where did you come from anyway, the sewers of Heimdallr? No wonder coffee suits you."

"What the _hell_ did you say?!" Machias had already whipped himself around, preparing to lunge at Jusis. Before he could do so, Gaius had already stood up from his seat and planted himself firmly in front of the two students.

 _I'm surprised that we've never been kicked off the train for disturbing the peace._

"Stay out of this! Why are you, of all people, defending him now!" Machias warned him. He returned Machias' threat with a disapproving gaze. Meanwhile, Jusis threw Gaius a withering look before he realized the entire train had gone completely silent.

"Sorry, but keeping everyone safe _is_ my business." Gaius responded quietly, his arms firmly crossed. "Both of you may not care, but I do. You both need to take responsibility for your own actions and apologize."

"Apologize? I've done nothing wrong." Jusis insisted.

"So you had to bring Machias down because he came from a poor family background and he disagreed with your opinion. I don't see a reason why that was called for."

"..."

"Hah! Serves you right!"

"And you Machias, could have told him to stop at any time. By saying nothing, you allowed him to provoke you into almost punching him. Do you think that was a good thing?"

"W-well, I…why must I apologize?! It's his own damn fault for looking down on me just because my opinion doesn't align with his noble taste!" Machias shouted.

"How typical of you to associate me with a moron like Patrick, but of course. Those massive headaches you also get from coffee are also free of charge."

Seething with anger, Machias threw a punch in Jusis' direction. It was promptly interrupted, as in that same moment, Gaius grabbed hold of his arm.

"Machias, please calm down."

"Calm down?! This asshole refuses to admit anything, mocks me for no good reason, and you're telling me to calm down?!"

I could feel Emma's anxiety and nervousness growing as she looked on. Her eyes darted to and fro as she slightly flinched from Machias' shouting. "Please b-boys…s-stop this," she spoke timidly. "You'll s-scare…"

Her sentence was cut short by several angry shouts from the far end of the train cabin behind us.

"Keep it down, will you! People are trying to sleep here!"

"Erebonian kids these days and their lack of respect. I thought we told you to be quiet for the last five times."

"Just because you're students from one of the most famous military academies in Erebonia, you think you can do whatever you want?!"

"You better shut up before I call the railway police!"

 _Great._ _Now we're getting dangerously close to being kicked out of the train, thank to these losers. Lame._

I smacked both Machias and Jusis on their heads. "You idiots."

"Fie! What was _that_ for?"

"Did you really have to do that, Fie?"

"What do you think, guys?" I rolled my eyes.

"I...apologize for my actions," Machias stammered, his face bright red.

"...we never meant to disturb you. Pay us no mind." Jusis added as he looked around the cabin apprehensively.

Silence. Having let go of Machias' arm as soon the other passengers started hurling their complaints in our direction, Gaius glanced out the window. "Come to think of it, does anyone know what the next station is? I don't remember hearing any announcement for the next stop."

"Umm...I-I think we're almost there?" Emma replied. "It looks like the sun is about to set."

"...we've lost track of where we are, didn't we?"

"I-I'm so sorry!" Emma apologized. "I should have paid more attention to the announcements, but it was so hard to keep track of time because-"

"It's not your fault, Emma. We all should have paid more attention," Gaius responded. I think he was about to say something else, but I couldn't stop myself from blurting out: "How is it everyone's fault? I could barely hear anything else aside from glasses boy and blond asshole over here."

"Excuse me?!" Jusis spat, before he was drowned out by a fuming Machias.

"Why is it always my fault?! Machias shouted. "Jusis just had to open his damn mouth! And don't you dare think that you had nothing to do with this, Fie!"

"...the next stop is -"

"My fault? Is it really my fault that you're both ranting and raving like lunatics? You guys couldn't keep your mouths shut even if you tried," I stared right at Machias, then at Jusis. Was it just me, or was there a crackling sound from the speakers?

"Pardon me for interrupting your conversation," Gaius interjected, "but do you mind moving over, Machias? I need to go to the bathroom."

Machias stood up, his teeth tightly clenched at his side. Nodding stiffly, he stepped aside to make room for Gaius, while glaring daggers at Jusis and throwing me a quick dirty look. Has he finally given up on keeping the peace between these two losers? I would have left them to their own devices a long time ago. No sooner had he left, Jusis and Emma both looked up in confusion.

"Did he just-?" Jusis remarked.

"Gaius, where are you going?" Emma cried. "What am I supposed to do to stop them? They never listen to me!"

"Emma?" An astonished Machias turned to her. "What do you mean by that?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a group of people from the far side of the cabin moving closer towards us. Among the group were three young men dressed in grey uniforms. This is bad.

"Thors Military Academy students, I presume?" a young man with short, blond hair in the grey uniform stared at us disapprovingly, his arms crossed. Jusis, noting the presence of a military officer, jolted from his seat. "Who's he?" I whispered to Machias. "A captain of the Railway Military Police? What is he doing here?" he whispered back. "Beats me," I muttered. Of course, I knew exactly why they showed up. For the first time since school started, both Machias and Jusis found themselves speechless.

"A-ahh yes we are, sir." Emma hastily responded, her eyes slightly downcast. "Is something the matter here?"

The captain gazed back coldly, his pale blue eyes resting on both Jusis and Machias. "There have been a number of complaints coming in from the passengers of this cabin, as well as those around it, regarding excessive noise levels from a young group of people wearing red school uniforms. In addition, several complaints of aggressiveness regarding the behavior of two boys, particularly one with short, dark green hair with dark green eyes with glasses and the other with short, blond hair with light blue eyes wearing plaid pants were made. I could hear Machias let out an involuntary erk while Jusis merely blinked. "You kids don't happen to know anyone of that description, do you?"

"Uhh..." Emma stammered. "P-Please sir, we never meant any harm."

"Never meant!?" asked the captain, incredulously. "According to eyewitnesses, both the green haired boy and the blond boy almost got into several fist fights. Others have complained of aggressive behavior, abusive talk, and more recently, for excessive noise levels that overpower the announcement speakers. Do you think this kind of behavior is tolerable here, causing other passengers to fear for their lives? You are all getting off this train. Now."

Several nods of agreement rippled through the crowd behind the captain, along with the occasional "Get out!", "Serves them right!" and the odd "Welcome to the real world, princesses." With one glance in their general direction, the crowd fell abruptly silent.

"B-but we..." said Emma, visibly upset.

"Merely being a student does not exempt you from the law, nor should it shield you from the consequences of unruly behaviour. Your group has received a sufficient amount of warnings from the other passengers and you've ignored them all. I've already discussed your situation with the conductor. As a result of this...incident, we of the RMP have made full arrangements to accompany you until the staff from Thors Military Academy can be contacted. Now, follow me to the cabin at the back of the train and be ready to leave when the train comes to a full stop. Did I make myself clear?"

"With all due respect, sir," Jusis stood up, "If I may? I deeply regret that my actions have contributed in some way to cause anxiety in the other passengers. However, as mere students who are heading to Parm, we are not familiar with the geography of Western Erebonia. How then, captain, will you explain our situation to our parents, instructors and the principal? Or do you honestly expect us to keep quiet about this?"

I could see Machias holding his breath. He looked rather frightened for a change.

"Rest assured, young man, that I take my duties seriously," the captain responded. "And as for that insolent tone of yours, you are in no any position to make demands of me."

Jusis gritted his teeth. "As you wish, captain. However, do you think it inappropriate to drop us at our destination? How can we be sure that the RMP will ensure our safety until our instructors arrive?"

"What are you-" Machias attempted to speak but his voice came out as a high-pitched shrill. The captain ignored him and glared daggers at Jusis, who scowled back in disgust. I could see a sense of unease sweeping over the crowd as they began to edge away from the scene and head towards their seats.

"You must belong to a high-class family with noble status. That haughty, demanding attitude of yours and your utter lack of regard for my status will get you nowhere, noble scum."

"At the end of the day, you're just another tool of the Chancellor." Jusis spat. "Do you realize who you are talking to? My family has the power to banish you and your ilk completely from the Kreuzen Province. You would do well to remember your place."

Before I knew it, the rest of RMP members pointed their guns at us.

The captain's eyes flickered as he spoke. "And what do I owe the pleasure in meeting a scion of the infamous Duke Albarea? In the name of Emperor Eugent the III and His Excellency, the Chancellor, all of you are under arrest on disturbing the peace and interfering with the authority of the RMP. And as for you, young man, I will ensure that you and your..." he paused, "...friends, will come to no harm."

The captain continued. "We will escort you students personally off the train. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. I trust that with a record on your files, there shall be no more incidents in the future?"

Jusis was stunned speechless. I could see the change in Machias as the full realization of the captain's threat hit him full in the face. "Wait a minute! This has to be some sort of mistake!" Machias pleaded. "Please sir, I beg of you to reconsider! My father-!"

"Hmph. It always comes to this. There seems to be no lack of insolent, outspoken, arrogant, and self-centered teenage brats like you who would tell me how to do my job, or threaten me with their political connections." The captain groused. "No matter." Turning aside to another young man with short, dark blue hair, the captain quietly nodded. The young officer nodded curtly and began moving towards the front end of the carriage. Though I couldn't see he did afterwards, the sound of a piece of rope being yanked downwards what all that I needed to know what was happened. Soon after, the rest of the RMP members started prodding us with their guns, forcing us to move forward.

"Now, if you please." the captain commanded, his eyes darting between an unresponsive Jusis and a defeated Machias. That man meant business. Even if they assured us of our safety now, there's no way we weren't going to pay for Jusis' and Machias' actions. With a sigh of frustration, Machias gingerly stepped out onto aisle. As we began moving on to the next carriage towards the back of the train, the door behind us slid open with a gentle click.

"Sir?" a familiar voice called out. "Pardon my rudeness. Is something the matter?"

Turning around the face the speaker, the captain brusquely responded, "weren't a few audible civilian complaints enough to alert you and your classmates of the seriousness of the situation, Nordian? You are just as guilty as the rest of them."

 _Ugh. What is wrong with this country?_

"Sir, if I may? In other words, you believe that our whole group should be held accountable for the actions of the few."

"Indeed," said the captain dismissively. "If that is all you had to say, then we are done here."

"Sir? May I be so bold as to apologize on behalf of my fellow classmates for all the trouble we've caused?" Gaius continued.

 _Like that would solve all our problems._

"Hmph. What good would it do for a stranger from outside of the country to apologize on behalf of these two failed scions of a greedy duke and a city politician?"

"Captain. I mean no offense by saying this, but I understand where you're coming from. It's true that my apology will not have much weight as either of my classmates who were directly involved in the situation. Even so, someone from Thors Military Academy must take responsibility for what happened here."

"Why would you bother to apologize, Gaius? Weren't you inside the men's washroom this whole time while this happened?" asked Jusis, who seemed pretty shocked and indignant at the same time.

"Yes, that is true. However, we can't ignore that the other passengers in our cabin had complained about our behavior, so much so that someone brought it to the attention to the Railway police. Had we been more considerate towards everyone on this train, I don't believe the captain here would had any reason to approach us in the first place." Gaius answered plainly.

With a loup gulp, Machias had turned bright red. Meanwhile, Jusis averted his eyes away from the scene and stared vacantly at the ground.

"...I see. Very well. On the condition that such behavior from Thors Military Academy will never be seen again, I shall withhold the charge against your group." After what seemed like forever, the other officers stood down. "Nevertheless, that does not mean you students are free to remain on board. We will now escort you students to your intended destination. Now then, if you'll please?" He gestured to Emma and myself.

Nodding stiffly, Emma moved aside as I walked past her and stood in front of the young captain. Gaius moved to the back of the line as Emma, Jusis and Machias followed suit.

"Attention all passengers: please be advised that the train will be making an emergency stop between Saint Arkh and Parm Station. Please remain seated at this time until further notice."

"Everything is settled, then." the captain observed. "We of the RMP thank you for your cooperation." By the time we followed him to the back end of the train, it had stopped. We were ushered outside of the train as fast as possible a way off from the train tracks when the train let out a hiss and left without us. Only till then, did I realized how late it was. I was hungry and tired, no thanks to Machias and Jusis and I just couldn't be bothered to care about whether we would make it to Parm or not.

"Umm, sir?" Emma asked the captain shyly. "Could you please be so kind as to contact our Thors homeroom instructor now? We were originally on a field trip heading to Parm but at this rate, it may be too late to notify our instructor then."

"What?!" the captain was aghast. "But it's too dangerous to stay here for long!" He took a sideward glance at Jusis and Machias, who were quietly standing between the two other RMP officers.

"I apologize for interrupting sir, but isn't that the point of a military school?" I stressed. "...to teach us how to defend ourselves and fight when need be? The five of us should be handle a few monsters at night, no sweat." Why are they treating us like helpless morons?

"You insolent girl. How dare you talk to the captain in such a manner?!" spat one of the other officers.

 _It's no wonder Sara chose the life of a bracer over something like this._

"Please sir, allow me to apologize on Fie's behalf. It's been a long day for us and we are quite famished and exhausted from our trip from Trista. Would it be okay if one of us contacted our instructor to meet you at a designated place in Parm instead?" Gaius suggested.

"Very well. Inform your instructor that they will be meeting us as soon as possible at the White Footpath Inn to discuss what happened today. And make it quick. I have better things to do than to babysit the lot of you."

Gaius then turned to the rest of us. "Alright, which one of us will contact instructor Sara? I wouldn't mind doing it, but I'm afraid I don't know much about the details."

Machias scowled. "There's no way I'm doing it. This would have never happened if she separated the two of us!"

"I hate to admit it, but Regnitz is right. If she hadn't forced us together into this group, this trip would have been tolerable!"

"G-guys," Emma pleaded. "Please s-stop this."

"Don't think this isn't all your fault, Albarea! You just couldn't hide your contempt for us commoners, you smug little-"

"And who almost tried to attack me, Regnitz?! It's funny how you presume all nobles are scum, and to accuse me of contempt when you tried to strang-"

The two of them were suddenly faced with three guns pointing straight at them.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on me, or you'll live to regret it!"

"Just you wait! My father will see to it that you all be tried and arrested for such despicable behavior, you bunch of traitorous cowards!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Gaius silently gaze up into the sky while Emma watched, helpless to stop either idiot. _Is he actually praying to Aidios right now?!_

"Enough of this nonsense!" the captain shouted. "One more word, and I will see to it that you both be arrested on this very spot, Heimdallr's governor and the Duke of Kreuzen be damned!" Seeing the look on the captain's face, the two were stricken into silence. Again.

"Fine. I'll do it." I answered. Pulling out my ARCUS, I managed to get a hold of Sara while avoiding my teammates' anxious or impatient stares.

"Why, if it isn't my darling little daughter, Fie. Did you miss little ol' me so soon?"

"Sara, you have to come to Parm's White Footpath Inn right away!"

"Whaaat's with the rush?"

"What's the rush? We've been almost arrested twice by the RMP, kicked out of the train, and now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere with the RMP thanks to those two morons you forced into our group!"

I could hear Machias in the background. "Who, exactly, were you calling a moron?"

"She obviously meant you, Regnitz. Who else would fit that description, you oblivious fool?" Jusis replied.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. You guys did better than I expected. I'd thought your guys would have thrown in the towel a few minutes after you left Trista."

"You mean you expected us to blow up at any time? Gee, thanks for the encouragement, Sara."

"I would have thought you might have blown up the train in frustration." she teased.

"Well, I almost wanted to at one point." I admitted.

The captain's harsh voice cut through the silence. "What's taking so long? Is that instructor of yours coming or not?!"

Sara coughed. "Don't you worry your pretty little head. Mommy will take care of everything...as soon as I find my wallet. Margoooot. Have you seen my wallet anywhere?"

 _Why? Just why?_

"Did you hear what I said, young lady?" the captain raised his voice.

"Yeah. She's coming." I nodded.

"Found it! Alriight! Back in business!" Sara exclaimed. She must have been too excited, as her comments caused a huge commotion on my end.

"I can't believe this," one of the officers grumbled. "How unprofessional, coming from the most prestigious military school in Erebonia!"

"She must have been drinking all day, no doubt." Jusis surmised.

"How was she even hired in the first place?!" Machias shrieked.

"It seems Thors' standards are slipping these days. How shameful." the captain noted with derision.

"Whoopsies. They overheard me that time, didn't they?" Sara confessed. Hey Fie..," Sara cautioned, "I need you to listen very carefully. Just do whatever the RMP guys tell you to until I get there. And don't let those boys cause any more trouble, you hear me?"

"Roger." I closed my ARCUS unit. "Captain. Your orders?"

The captain crossed his arms. "I will only say this once: while we of the RMP will ensure your safety, you students are solely responsible for keeping up with us. If any student here is unable to so, we have no obligation to ensure that they do. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." we replied. The captain then shortly issued orders to everyone to move out. To my relief, he positioned me at the back of the group with Gaius and another officer.

"You think we'll make it to Parm before moonrise?" I asked him.

"Hmm...if the winds and the Goddess will it," he replied. "That being said, we should be prepared for anything." I nodded. Our group moved in relative silence as the young captain led the way towards the main path.

"...Hey Fie, this might not be in my place to say, but would you mind spending time with Emma and keeping her company?"

"Huh? ...Where did that come from?"

"I was just thinking it would be nice since you two are the only girls in our group."

"I guess. Are you worried about her?"

"Yeah. Since I'll be keeping an eye on both Jusis and Machias, I won't have much time to see how Emma is doing."

"Who are you, our dad?"

"If it'll help us to come back from this trip in one piece, by all means." he answered thoughtfully.

After that conversation and a few monster fights along the way, we shortly arrived in Parm before moonrise. We were given permission to settle down in the White Footpath Inn and have dinner while we waited for Sara to arrive, thanks to Gaius. He invited Jusis and Machias to join the rest of us at the table for dinner, but thankfully, they refused to join us. Both of them ended up sitting as far away as they could from each other and from the rest of our group as they ate their own dinner. Meanwhile, I listened quietly to Gaius and Emma's conversations about our field trip for the most part, and joined in whenever I had to.

I could tell she was distressed about how our group was faring compared to the other group in the town of Celdic in particular. She seemed distraught at our unwillingness to work together and brought up the issues of group safety and expulsion. At this, Machias let out a 'gah!' and Jusis looked hastily away as if he pretended not to know what we were discussing. Gaius was almost the complete opposite of Emma. He seemed to show a strong appreciation for our experiences in light of what happened before as a growing experience and felt they were a necessity for the group to be aware that their attitudes and actions bring about consequences, both good and bad. I almost got the feeling that he deliberately tried to offset Emma's misgivings about our situation, as our team morale was virtually non-existent.

It was probably around nine o' clock or so when Sara finally showed up. We were forbidden to leave the inn until she showed up, so we spent the rest of the time going about our own business, which was kinda nice. The first thing she did when she arrived was to herd us all into a small room where that hot-blooded blond captain dude of the RMP was waiting for us. She yelled at the captain several times about the way he treated us and he yelled at her in turn at the sheer amount of suffering Machias and Jusis were inflicting on innocent bystanders. After that, she turned swiftly on us, shamed us and berated us like no tomorrow. Even though it was unpleasant and almost left Emma in tears, I had the satisfaction of seeing Machias and Jusis feel like total crap, even if their apologies were forced out of them.

When she finally finished speaking, Sara told us to wait for a minute. She promptly disappeared for a brief moment, and reappeared with the innkeeper in tow. The innkeeper seemed pretty nice and offered to show us to our rooms.

"Ah, so these are the Thors students you were talking about," the innkeeper noted as she turned towards Sara. "As you all know, your accommodations have been arranged by your school. Your instructor has requested that we provide you with two rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys." As I expected, both Jusis and Machias loudly voiced their objections at the same time.

"Hold on! Are you suggesting that I have to bunk in the same room as this arrogant noble?!"

"Tch! How do you expect me to sleep with this obnoxious commoner? I demand my own room at once!"

"My, my. Aren't you both sweet little darlings? I haven't even finished yet," the innkeeper shook her head. Her reply took both of them by surprise.

"Wha-?" Machias and Jusis were taken by surprise.

"I have never met such ungrateful Erebonian youths in my entire life. Ever. Where do you think you are now, in your house?! If you wish to remain here in peace, you follow the rules, no exception. Otherwise, you can spend the rest of your field trip washing dishes in our kitchen."

"Sounds like an excellent idea!" Clapping her hands together, Sara quickly addressed the innkeeper. "By the way, would you be a dear and bring an extra mattress to the girls' room? And some extra blankets and a pillow for one, please?"

"Um, Instructor Sara?" Emma asked. "You're not planning to bunk with us, are you?"

"That's exactly what she's doing," I glanced at Sara. "Shouldn't you book your own room by yourself? We don't need your booze bottles in here."

"Oh, c'mon, Fie. Don't make me travel back to Trista all by my lonesome self. I just got here!"

"Pfft. Did you expected me to just happily let you waltz into my room and invade my hard earned privacy after all this?"

"Why not? An instructor needs her beauty sleep. I'm too young to start having wrinkles!"

"Ahem!" Jusis loudly interrupted. "Pardon me, Instructor Sara, but this is getting nowhere. As revolting as I find this arrangement, I accept the innkeepers' terms."

"Hah! And here I'd never thought we'd agree on the same thing. I'm only accepting these terms because I have no choice but to go along with this charade, make no mistake about it!" Machias huffed.

"Excellent! You kids are now free to go and do whatever. Oh, and about that matt-"

The innkeeper shook her head. "I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, Miss Valestein, but allow me to show your students to their rooms first. Ladies and...gentlemen, if you please follow me."

 _Finally_ , I sighed. _If I stay here any longer my arms and legs are gonna fall off_.

When Emma and I finally reached our room, I rushed to the first bed I saw and laid myself down on the blanket. "Night, Emma." I yawned.

"F-Fie?" she seemed startled. "We haven't even talked about which bed we were going to sleep on yet. Maybe it would been nicer if we talked about it first since it's..."

"Yeah?" I raised my eyebrows.

"W-well, it would be more considerate for the two of us if we decided this together..."

"But I'm soooo tired. Can't we do this later?"

I thought I saw Emma open her mouth before a certain screechy voice came blasting in at full volume from the other side of the wall. "Ugh! This is why I hate nobles! Why do you get to decide, Jusis Alberea?! Don't tell me what to do!"

"You're the one to talk, Machias Regnitz. I simply informed you that I lack the space to unpack my belongings, which is why I'm taking the closet side. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do with my time other than wasting it on convincing you to cooperate."

"How dare you...!"

"What do you think you're doing?! Let go of my pyjamas this instant!"

"I know exactly what you're up to! How about you stop hogging the damn closet?! It's not even yours to begin with!"

 _Dear Aidios, just kill me now._

"...Fie? Are you awake?"

 _Do I have to answer? Why can't I be dead to the world right about...now?_

"I-I'm going to check on the boys. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"...Sure," I yawned even wider, "...whatever..."

It was such a relief when their noises no longer reached me. Sleep had overtaken me at last.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Memoirs of a Backwater Town is an attempt to fill in the gaps of what happened during the first field trip based on various scenes and hints scattered throughout Trails of Cold Steel. The events here in Chapter 2 concurrently coincide with those happening in Chapter 3.

 **Chapter 2: What They Encountered**

"What do you think you're doing!? Let go of my pyjamas this instant!"

"I know exactly what you're up to! How about you stop hogging the damn closet?! It's not even yours to begin with!" I tightened my grip on Jusis' pyjamas. If I had my way, I could have chucked his entire wardrobe out of our room. Think of all the room we could spare!

 _Of all the selfish, condescending, noble pricks I've met-! Why the hell did Sara let him carry his entire wardrobe with him?! Who's he supposed to impress, the innkeeper!?_

"Are you insane?! I said. Let. Go!" Jusis shouted as he forcefully yanked his pyjamas away from me. A loud rip instantly tore through the air as I was thrown towards the ground, hitting my head hard on the floor.

"Oww!" I sat up and rubbed the bump on my head.

The next thing I knew, I heard the opening of a door and the sound of Gaius' voice. "Machias, Jusis, what happened here? Are you both alright?"

"Alright? If you hadn't tried to yank my pyjamas away from me, this would have never happened." Jusis stopped rubbing his head to glare icily at me. "This is all your fault, Machias Regnitz. You're going to pay for my favourite pair of pyjamas. Every last mira of it. Do you realize how petty that was!?"

"My fault?! You've never shared closet space in your entire life, living in a goddamn mansion and whatnot, you selfish prick! Is it so hard to give a little space to somebody other than yourself!?"

"Arghh...will you BOTH stop with the yelling!? How am I supposed to enjoy my beer in peace when I can hear you downstairs from the parlor?! Keep it up, and I WILL send every last one of you back to Trista with an automatic fail on this assignment! No exceptions!" _H-how the hell did she-?_

"A-an automatic fail? B-but, I-I worked so hard just to get into this academy..."

I finally looked towards the doorway to see a glimpse of Emma standing behind Instructor Sara as she slowly backed away from our room and ran off.

"W-wait!" I stood up, before a wave of pain forced me to sit back down. _Ugh! I can't believe this. Just because Jusis is a control freak._

"-what are you hesitating for? Don't worry about them. Just go."

"...Instructor, if you'll please excuse me." I heard Gaius' voice, and the sound of footsteps disappearing into the distance. _What just happened?_

"Now that it's just us here, we going have a nice, looong chat about-"

"With all due respect, Instructor, but this matter is between both Machias and myself." Brushing her aside, Jusis swiftly turned on me. "Hmph. You should have known better than to yank my pyjamas away from me, Regnitz. What did you think was going to happen?!"

"Just how the hell am I in the wrong when you were stuffing the closet with your own clothes?! Do you ever think of anyone other than yourself!?"

"That's enough, Machias! You could have let go of my pyjamas and talked to me like any reasonable person would, and you're still blaming me for your lack of judgment!?"

"Reasonable?! Since when do you ever listen to reason!? 'I'm a scion of the Four Great Houses and I can do whatever I please, you peasants be damned!' Like hell, you can!"

 _I can't take this anymore! There's no way in hell I'm gonna let him win!_ I felt the urge the throttle Jusis rise within me.

"Heeeey! Don't just ignore me when I'm talking to you!" Sara yelled. "You both want that fail to come sooner?! Then you can have it! We're leaving for Trista tomorrow, and that's final! I'm sure that Class I would be suuuper happy about-"

"No!" I shouted. "I will never give that cocky, egoistical, condescending pain-in-the-ass the satisfaction of seeing me fail!"

Jusis gritted his teeth. "Tsch! I don't need more reason to lose face, no less to that fool, Patrick."

"That's the spirit! I'm counting on you to make me proud!...That'll show that stuffy Vice Principal Heinrick-ahem."

"Hold on a minute, that doesn't mean I'm just going to-wait, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"You boys better play nice now. Oh, and take good care of my darling daughter Fie, okay?~"

"You got to be kidding me!" Jusis muttered, as Sara disappeared from our sight.

"Don't think for a moment that I'm going to let this slide, Machias. You better hold your end of the bargain, or else."

"I could say the same to you!" I answered, just as I let out a huge yawn.

"Oh, and just so you know, Regnitz, you owe me 50,000 mira for ruining my pyjamas."

"50,000 mira?! For a pair of pants and a black t-shirt!? Are you serious!?" I cried. _This is exactly why Alberea is insufferable. I'm not giving him a single mira until he bloody well apologizes for being so damn selfish._ "There is no way I'm paying all that unless you admit you started this!"

"How am I at fault when you can't even last a second without opening your mouth? What is it with you Reformists and your obsession with pointing fingers at the nobility? Do you really have nothing better to do?"

"Of course it's all your fault!" I told him. "Why did you lug your whole wardrobe with you to Parm, anyway!?"

"And what is that of any concern to you? What I do is none of your business," he replied.

"Of course it is! It's not like I had any choice but to share a room with you, did I!? Where are my clothes supposed to go then, in the trash bin?! On the freakin' floor!?"

"Hmph. This could have been over with if you were willing to make things right, Machias. Such a hypocrit-"

"What part of 11 o'clock curfew don't you boys understand!?" the innkeeper hollered. "Don't make me come up there and drag you boys outside!"

 _H-how was I supposed to know that our damned mouths were going to land us a one-way ticket to the streets!? I can't believe we were lied to!_

"How come you're so lenient on them, Miz? Last time, you kicked me outside after one warning. Didn't you give them at least three?" someone called out.

 _...W-well, nobody told us anything after we were yelled at by those pain-in-the-ass RMP members, Instructor Sara, and the innkeeper..._

"Enough of this nonsense. If you're not going to throw them out then allow me," someone else growled.

 _...and Fie...I guess. Gaius and Emma warned us too..._

"C'mon guys. Seeing the RMP get riled up over two quarrelsome teenagers in this backwater town, well ain't that a sight for sore eyes? Hey Missy, are you housing kids of some bigshot Erebonian heavyweights? Like some blue blood kid or some politician's kid?"

 _W-who is this person and which side are they on?_

"Hic, thar's no way any of those kids would ever set foot in our town, harharhar!" Don't tell me these people are...

"That's cuz you weren't there to hear no fireworks, from that pink-haired lassie no less. Hey, Missy! That was a hell of a show I heard. You a teacher or something?"

"Does that look like a responsible instructor to you? You can't even see her through that pile of empty mugs anymore."

"Yesh, that's right."

"Pahh. Kids. One minute you give them freedom, next thing they think they own the damn place. Hot lady or not, I ain't gonna stand for this awful noise."

"Heeey! Hic, you boys better back off from my kids, you hear! Ohh, they're going to be in so much trouble once I'm through with them-buuurp*" _Was that Instructor Sara? Because that belch was utterly disgusting._

"What in Aidios' name is going on?" Jusis glanced past me, confused. "Why are these strangers getting involved in our business?"

"How the hell should I know!?" I spat. "It's not like I ever did anything to them, either! I knew that this damned field trip would be a disaster as soon as you joined our group!"

"We've gone over this already and you insist on putting the blame on me!? How many times do I need to get it into your thick skull that your irrational behaviour and anger issues ARE the problem!?"

"Are you seriously saying that I'm crazy!?" I yelled. "Jusis, you damned son of a-"

Dammit!" It was then I realized that the door to our room was already opened. I whirled around to see a half-drunk Instructor Sara leaning towards the door, with her hand gripping the doorknob.

"I thought I told you we'll leave for Trista tomorrow if you kids can't get over yourselves! If you don't want a stampede of angry drunks coming through the doorway, you better think of something fast!"

"And how do we go about doing that?" Jusis narrowed his eyes.

"What is that lady innkeeper doing!?" I demanded.

"And you expect them to play nice when we can hear every detail of your silly little argument from below?"

"You all heard us...?" I raised my voice, only to shrink back. Jusis coughed nervously.

"Anyways, I've done my part. Since one of the beest things is learning how to deal with people, consider this a part of your field study! Ta-ta!"

"I-instructor Sara!" Jusis called out. _Was that him shaking?_ "W-wait, don't leave us!" I begged.

"What for? You boys brought this on yourselves. If you can get yourselves in a situation, you can get yourselves out. You better prepare yourselves, if you know what's coming," she began to shut the door on us.

"Noooooooooo! P-please, don't go, Instructor! We're sorry for everything, we truly are! Please, don't leave us!" we pleaded to no avail. One click and we knew that she had already left.

Jusis sighed. "You better think of a plan, Regnitz, or else we're done for."

"Me? Who died and made you my boss? Whatever happened to Noblesse Oblige?" I retorted.

"Speaking of which, aren't we forgetting-"

Just then, I heard a loud scream coming from below us. Jusis and I both looked in the direction of the doorway.

"What was that?" he asked before he began to look at the floor. "Gas!?"

"Don't tell me-!" I began before I started feeling lightheaded.

The last thing I remembered was the sound of the door opening. "Goodnight, morons. Sleep tight."


End file.
